Three Large Charities End Solicitations for Katrina Relief as Total Tops $3-Billion

By Leah Kerkman

With about $3.2-billion raised to help Hurricane Katrina victims — and contributions still coming in — three of the largest charities that solicited such donations have now stopped raising money for Gulf Coast relief efforts.

The American Red Cross, which received nearly $2.12-billion, more than any other charity, announced this month that it has raised enough. Hurricane-relief donations to the Red Cross account for about two-thirds of the total raised to date. The Salvation Army has raised the second-largest amount, $325-million, followed by Catholic Charities USA, which has received $154.5-million.

In addition to the Red Cross, two other big charities, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in Chicago, and the AmeriCares Foundation, in Stamford, Conn., have raised enough to pay for their relief projects.

Unlike the Red Cross, which will still accept Katrina-related donations if they are earmarked to help hurricane victims, the church and foundation have stopped accepting hurricane-relief donations altogether.

The church collected about $23-million for the relief efforts, while AmeriCares raised about $15-million.

All three charities are still accepting donations for their general disaster-relief funds.

Meanwhile, other groups are continuing their hurricane-related solicitations, and some are starting new fund-raising efforts.

Mercy Corps, a Portland, Ore., charity, started a campaign this month to help support its hurricane-relief work. The organization teamed with Michael Stipe, singer for the band REM, to release five versions of the song "In the Sun," each of which costs 99 cents to download from Apple's iTunes Web site. People can also purchase the six-song album, including a bonus track, for $4.95. As of presstime, it was ranked the third-most-downloaded album on the Web site. All proceeds from the song will go to Mercy Corps's rebuilding efforts in the region, which Mr. Stipe visited in mid-January.

Following are the charities that have raised at least $10-million for Katrina relief, along with their latest donation figures:

American Red Cross (Washington): $2.12-billion
Salvation Army (Alexandria, Va.): $325-million
Catholic Charities USA (Washington): $154.46-million
Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund: $110-million
Habitat for Humanity (Americus, Ga.): more than $95-million
United Methodist Committee on Relief (New York): $62.37-million
United Way of America (Alexandria, Va.): $45.8-million
Samaritan's Purse (Boone, N.C.): $36.89-million
Baton Rouge Area Foundation (La.): $34-million
America's Second Harvest (Chicago): $29.59-million
United Jewish Communities (New York): $28.5-million
Humane Society of the United States (Washington): $25-million
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Chicago): $23-million
Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief (Alpharetta, Ga.): $20.1-million
AmeriCares Foundation (Stamford, Conn.): $15-million
Foundation for the Mid South (Jackson, Miss.): $11.6-million
World Vision (Federal Way, Wash.): $10.9-million
Mercy Corps (Portland, Ore.): $10-million